I have always enjoyed life in a small town. As the 1980's sitcom Cheers says in its theme song, "Everybody knows your name." While Jacksonville has that small town feel, and everybody knows your name, it just doesn't quite compare to life in a small Blount County town that no one has ever heard of, Remlap, Alabama.

There's actually a quite interesting story about how this small town, which is positioned right in between Oneonta and Pinson, got its name. Two brothers, whose last name was Palmer, shared land that extended to near Pinson. The two brothers got into a dispute, and split the land, with one calling the land near Pinson Palmerdale, while the other called his part Remlap, which is Palmer spelled backward. This is how the small town came about.

I've grown up in Remlap all my life. Coming to Jacksonville was the first time I have been out of the small town for a long period of time. I think the small town attitude displayed in Jacksonville is why it feels so much like home to me. I grew up in a portion of Remlap called Pine Mountain, which is interesting in and of itself because there is one point on the mountain where Blount, Jefferson, and St. Clair Counties all come together. The portion of Pine Mountain I live on is located about a mile or so from the backwaters of Inland Lake, which is owned by the Birmingham Water Works and extends our way from Allgood, a small community just south of Oneonta.

Growing up in Remlap, because everyone knew everybody, and everyone lives fairly close to one another, hanging out with friends is a common theme. On the mountain, the youth leader at Pine Mountain Community Church (which is my home church), Shane Williams, occasionally takes the youth at the church to a place we call "The Falls." This is a waterfall, and there are a couple of caves that surround it. It is by far one of the many beautiful things on the mountain. It is a place that is near and dear to Shane, as he constantly went there himself growing up.

While there isn't much to do in Remlap, there is one place on the mountain that grabs the attention of people who ride dirt bikes, love to play airsoft, or just want to get away for a weekend and camp in the peace and quiet. This place is called The Ridge Off-Road Riding Park, and it is also home to the Panther Run, a 5K mud run that has many obstacles. This mud run is compared to the likes of the Spartan Challenge. This is always a great experience to be able to help out with the Panther Run each year.

The Ridge also has zip lines. Known for having the longest zip line course in the state of Alabama, many people come from all over to ride these. There are three different zipline tours; beginner, intermediate, and expert. Each has a different level of height to them.

One thing that is new to Remlap is a high school! The town had a school, but prior to the class of 2015's freshman year, after students completed the eighth grade at Southeastern, they had to transfer to one of four schools: Locust Fork, Oneonta, Springville, or Pinson Valley, depending on where they lived. This changed with the class of 2015, as work began on a high school for the small town of Remlap.

Each year, from our freshman year, they added on a new grade, until there was finally a senior class for the fall of 2014. Our graduating class, totaling around fifty students, was the first to ever graduate from what is now known as Southeastern High School. Our senior year also brought the first high school football game in Southeastern Stadium. The school, whose sports teams are known as the Mustangs, had begun fielding a football team our freshman year, but up until our senior year did not have a stadium of their own to host football games.

Former principal Mike Peoples addresses the first-ever graduating class of Southeastern High School on May 21, 2015.Photo courtesy Sherry Duke Maddox.

The Southeastern football team, coached by Coach Burkett from 2014-2017, experienced many growing pains but has had success over the years. The highlight of our senior year was winning Homecoming 33-20 over Appalachian, a school who has since become known as our rival over the mountain.

With the 2018-2019 school year came a new coach, Coach Byrd. So far on the season, the Mustangs are 2-1, with wins against Appalachian (12-0), for their first-ever win against the Eagles in the Blount County Kickoff Classic, and Brindlee Mountain (66-0) for a huge win over a 3A school.

Southeastern is a 2A school in the most recent reclassification. The Mustangs take the field again on September 21 with another region game at Sumiton Christian, and this game can be heard on the Mustangs Radio Network on the 95.3 WCRL app, thanks to Robbie McAlpine.

With the addition of a high school, Remlap has also seen the addition of a Dollar General. Previously, the only store in Remlap was Super Saver, a small gas station on Highway 75 just past Southeastern.

The addition of a high school has also brought an increase in housing. As my tiny hometown grows bigger, I am excited to see the growth in our town, as well as in the school, but it is my hope that Remlap always keeps that small town feel to it. Remlap is truly a town where everybody knows your name.